BMJ 1996;312:511 (24 February)

Letters

Deaths of children in house fires

EDITOR,--Ian Roberts's editorial on the deaths of children in house fires omits to mention what is overwhelmingly the most important factor in fatal residential fires--namely, cigarettes.1 "Smokers' materials" are the source of ignition in nearly half of the house fires in Britain that result in a death. Matches are not included in the government's definition of this term, and in fatal residential fires the term essentially refers to cigarettes. Any discussion of deaths among children because of house fires ought therefore to mention cigarette smoking by members of the victims' households.

In 1994, at a national conference on fatal house fires in Scotland, Professor Timothy Squires noted that "over 40% to almost 50%" of such fires were caused by cigarettes. Now, against the background of an overall decrease in the rate of deaths in fires in the two ensuing years, that percentage has risen to 54% in Scotland.

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Relevant Article

Deaths of children in house fires
Ian Roberts
BMJ 1995 311: 1381-1382. [Extract] [Full Text]

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  • Best, D., Committee on Environmental Health, , Committee on Native American Child Health, , Committee on Adolescence, (2009). Secondhand and Prenatal Tobacco Smoke Exposure. Pediatrics 124: e1017-e1044 [Abstract] [Full text]  
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